World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on February 2. This day marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea.

The Government, through the Ministry of Climate Change and the Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation, will host and facilitate a National Solid Waste Summit on January 24, 2024, which is Wednesday next week.

Another permit issued by the Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation (DEPC) is the Environmental Impact Assessment permit, the application process of which is regulated under the Environmental Protection and Conservation Act No. 6 of 2019

Vanuatu has another legislation, administered under the Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation (DEPC), that regulates the import of controlled substances, especially refrigerants and other controlled substances found in dry-cleaning machines, fire extinguishers, automobile and truck air conditioning units (whether on vehicles or not), marine and transportation refrigeration, domestic, commercial and industrial refrigerators, freezers, chillers, dehumidifiers, water coolers, ice machines, display cabinets, air conditioning and heat pump units, and any other air conditioning and heat pump equipment.

Vanuatu has a law administered under the Department of Energy that establishes standards of energy efficiency for electrical products called the “Energy Efficiency of Electrical Appliances, Equipment and Lighting Products Act No.24 of 2016”.

“Where the Pacific goes in relation to addressing the imminent threat of climate change, or lack thereof, is where the rest of the world will follow. If the global community does not stand together to curb the threat of greenhouse gas emissions, Small Island Developing States will bear the brunt of extreme weather events,” Honourable Siromi Turaga, Attorney General of Fiji, shared this sentiment as he officially opened the recently held Regional Writeshop for Pacific Island Submissions to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Proceedings for Climate Change.

Vanuatu’s biggest lake on Gaua island in Torba Province, Lake Letes, has been formally registered by the Government of Vanuatu as a Community Conservation Area.